OllieSuave-007 This is a HK movie starring three martial arts greats: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Chan stars as lawyer Jackie Lung hired by a Hong Kong chemical plant to dispose of their company's opposition. But, when he falls for Nancy Lee, a woman who opposes the plant, and, stuck in the conflict of interest, he asks his friends Samo and Biao to assist in the investigation of the company.With a movie starring all three legends, I thought the film was going to be a blast. However, it was mediocre at best, with the boring subplot of Sammo and Miss Yip's (Deannie Yip) love connection overshadowing the suspense. The scene where Sammo, Jackie and Biao argue and fight with each other was funny to watch, but the rest of the movie suffers from a slow plot and an uninteresting story, save for the riveting and action-packed climax. The acting was sub-par, with Sammo being too serious, Jacky too silly, and Biao being pretty dimwitted. Pauline Yeung seemed uninterested in the role and Deannie Yip was OK.Overall, it's not one of the movies starring Jackie, Sammo or Biao I would recommend.Grade D+

Comeuppance Reviews Notorious gangster and all-around bad guy Hua (Yuen) is using his chemical factory, Hua Chemical Works, as a front for a drug operation. Because his factory has made him a rich, white-collar businessman, no one can touch him. When a woman, Catherine (Yip) complains that the waste from his factory is polluting her beloved fishpond , she initially gets the brush-off from Hua. But when Hua's lawyer Johnny Lung (Chan) decides to defect to the good guys because he falls in love with Catherine's cousin Nancy (Yeung), all hell breaks loose. Uniting with buddies Luke (Hung) and Timothy (Biao), the triumphant trifecta take on the takers in a no-holds-barred brawl (is there any other kind?) Sammo Hung chalks up another winner for his storied career in this lovable outing. Once again, the movie is filled with energy, humor, and action. This time around, he introduces some romantic comedy elements, so for our money, the previous "Three Brothers" film, Wheels On Meals (1984), is a bit better, but it's entirely subjective, of course. There's plenty of expertly done slapstick on show as well, and if Wheels On Meals had our heroes as the Three Musketeers, here they're reminiscent of the Three Stooges. It's all very well-shot and well-staged, and the ending certainly doesn't skimp on the action.Thanks in part to the newly-added presence of co-director/production supervisor Corey Yuen, the Martial Arts have that kinetic, bone-breaking edge that we've all become so addicted to. It's perfectly suited to counterbalance the romantic comedy elements. Benny The Jet also returns from Meals, and, as stated earlier, the final fight in the warehouse is awesome, with stellar fight choreography and tons of engaging moments.If you have Netflix Streaming, that's a good way to view this movie, as it's nicely letterboxed and subtitled. Hopefully the Three Brothers will reunite, as 1988, the year of this movie, was their last film together to date. It would be amazing to see them all together in a movie that comes to the theater. Dragons Forever is a movie that will appeal to die-hard Martial Arts film fans, as well as newbies just getting into the genre. Quality stuff.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

bob the moo Jackie Lung is a hotshot lawyer working for those that can afford him. He is used to less than savoury cases so he thinks nothing when he is hired by a criminal-run factory that has been challenged by a local fish-farm that is being badly polluted. Jackie hires his two associates (themselves less than savoury characters) to spy on the owners of the fish-farm and find out whatever they can about it. However, when Jackie falls for one of the women in question he finds himself with a conflict of interest and decides instead to look into the factory.I've been using my DVD subscription service to dip into older films of late and a couple of good experiences made me seek out more older Jackie Chan films to see him in his prime. This film caught my eye as it had Chan, Sammo and Yuen together, not to mention several other recognisable names and faces in Urquidez and Yuen. I had recently seen some of Chan's films where the action was mostly left to one big sequence at the very end and the rest of the film was focused on more comedic sequences. This film is similar in the "light entertainment" mould but it succeeds by having regular and consistent action throughout. These are mostly very good and each of the three stars gets a chance to show off their abilities on the way to a final fight between Chan and Urquidez that is as skilled and exciting as those names would suggest.What this leaves though is the plot which is as simple as the genre requires but not actually that engaging. A lot of it rests on the romantic part of the film to work and this doesn't really do much other than happen. It didn't really interest me or provide anything beyond the odd chuckle that justified the time given to it. I suppose in the context of the film it is a necessary evil simply because the romantic interest between the characters is what drives the plot and puts people where they need to be for the action to occur. It still doesn't work that well though but never to the point where it hurts the total film – all it does is produce weaker bits that are a bit hard to care about.The cast are mostly excellent in terms of delivering what we came here for (action) but also the main people are solid in the comedy stakes as well. Chan is charming and quite amusing while Sammo is his usual clowning sort of character. Yuen is a bit drier but still it is his agility that makes him watchable. I enjoyed the amusing villain from Wah Yuen and the fight-work from Urquidez just about makes up for the terrible make-up they have stuck him in. The women in the cast have a thankless job of mostly being important within the romantic threads of the film – they are cute enough but not much in the way of performances thanks to the material I think.Dragons Forever will draw viewers because of the three main actors and what they can do physically. With this as the motivator the film wins by having consistent and engaging fight sequences that are impressive and fun. The downside is that the plot used to frame these sequences is pretty weak at times even if ti does produce some funny moments here and there. Martial arts fans will enjoy it no doubt.

kadzunk63 When I watched Dragons Forever for the first time in 1998, I was in awe about the fight scenes and the comedy. I had just become a fan of Jackie Chan's movies, and the TV showing of Dragons Forever really got me hooked. I bought the movie on VHS but found it hard to read the English subtitles because they were below the Chinese, so most of it was unreadable.Two years ago I bought a Hong Kong DVD and watched it for 7 times in one week :) I LOVE this movie, it is so unique in Jackie's oeuvre. Not only is it one of the few movies in which the "Brothers" (Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao), are acting together, it was also the last time they did. And most of all the ONLY movie in which the "Brothers" are not only fighting the criminals together, but also each other! The fight scenes are hilarious and every step is choreographed although it looks like a spontaneous fight. Alls the fights are both funny and breath taking.Jackie Chan as a slick lawyer, a true Romeo when it comes to women, finds himself in a somewhat difficult position where love and work collide, Sammo Hung in a non type-casted role as romantic fortune seeker, (btw I love the way he gets "her" to have dinner with him) and Yuen Biao is absolutely the most lovable lunatic I have ever seen.The scenes where Sammo and Biao encounter each other in Jackie's apartment are sequences I watch over and over again.The boat fight and the factory fight with Benny Urquidez are really something! And I am certainly in awe of Yuen Biao's agility in the factory fight, where he is on his back and flips himself over in a way I would never have imagined possible.Just today I got a newer DVD, which includes bloopers and 2 deleted scenes with Yuen Biao. One where he is seeing his psychiatrist, and another one where he believes he is talking to his psychiatrist over the intercom, but in fact is talking to the guy that is ROBBING the psychiatrist!!!One other funny thing about the movie: in the kitchen scene Jackie is juggling with a knife and then later with both the knife and a wooden kitchen utensil. But if you look closely, the wooden utensil is NOT in from of him and a second later (as by magic it is).Yuen Wah makes a terrific BAD guy!!!!!! We see Dick Wei as one of the thugs (he was also the pirate leader in Project A) Even though today I am the proud owner of some 55 Jackie Chan movies, I feel that Dragons Forver is still one of my most favorites!!!!! Tip: If you want to see the other 3 (Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah) in action again, DO try Eastern Condors also.